


Better Late Than Never

by AgentMaryMargaretSkitz



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Crisis on Infinite Earths Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe), Discord: Flarrowverse Shipyard, Earth-73, F/F, F/M, It gets a bit sad, Lily and Jax are Firestorm, Pre-Crisis, There has to be one earth where it's a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:21:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21716824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz/pseuds/AgentMaryMargaretSkitz
Summary: On Earth-73, Jefferson Jackson and Thea Queen of Mercury Labs discover that one of their satellites sent to another Earth has gone down. When they discover the cause, they reach out to fellow friend Lily Stein to work together to figure out their next move.With impending death nipping at their heels, the trio has to figure out a way off their Earth to find forces that will help them save it.
Relationships: Caitlin Snow/Lily Stein, Jefferson "Jax" Jackson & Lily Stein, Jefferson "Jax" Jackson/Thea Queen
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	Better Late Than Never

**Author's Note:**

> Life's been real busy lately, but I really wanted to do something for Crisis. I've been having awful block on the TNF verse, but then I started hearing about all the cameos. While I know we are not getting Firestorm, I thought it would be fun to have a version of them. And then I started doing this and managed to finish in time. Yay me!
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy, and get a box of tissues if you need them.

**Earth-73**

_This was not supposed to happen._

_Everything had been going perfectly when the GATE was first activated. They had expected it to stay that way, given they’d checked and double-checked all the parts of the machine. Still, something had gone wrong. Dr. Jackson had sent Thea to get her and Jax to help. When they arrived on the floor where the GATE had been built, the woman herself seemed to be struggling to put in the override codes. Her mother and Caitlin were struggling too to stop the impending disaster._

_“Mom!” Lily Stein screamed, jogging forward before lightning crackled in front of her and put her to a stop._

_“Lily!” shouted Clarissa as she and Jax’s mother looked up at the arrivals. “Get out of here!”_

_Jax was at her side, shaking his head. “You sent Thea to get help!”_

_“I thought we could,” Dr. Jackson’s face crumbled when she looked up at them. “But it’s too late. The energy is overloading. An explosion is coming. We can’t stop it- just prevent its direction. And we have to stay with it.”_

_Her eyes found Cait’s reddened ones before her fiancée sniffled and rubbed a sleeve over her face._

_“Mom,” Jax shook his head. “No, we all need to go.”_

_“Someone has to redirect the power. We can’t get out through the lightning. I’m sorry.”_

_“No!”_

_“Just get out of here, both of you!”_

_“NO!” they screamed together._

_“Lily, Jax, you have to-“_

_There was an explosion above the GATE. For two seconds, time seemed to freeze. Then it resumed to its speed, a pulse of energy surging out to hit the two young scientists holding on to try and shield each other._

Lily Stein’s eyes snapped open. Her entire body shook with residual panic from the nightmare. Gritting her teeth together, she reminded herself where she was- in an apartment, not in the basement of Mercury Labs. When that didn’t work, she turned to her breathing exercises. Eight counts in, eight counts out. Repeat four times.

She was alive. Jax was alive. They were safe.

But her mother, his mother, Caitlin…they were gone, or not who they once were in Caitlin’s case.

Light was streaming through the thin curtains of her room. Lily wrapped the sheets around herself tightly, thankful she had the day off. After finding Caitlin again, she needed some time for herself. Jax and Thea understood and told her to go. The city survived years without Firestorm before the GATE blew, and it could absolutely handle a few days now.

* * *

Across town, Jefferson “Jax” Jackson was frowning at the screen of a computer. Like his late mother, he was considered a genius and could back it up with his doctorate and project history. His latest participation in sending satellites out across the multiverse to make contact with other Earths was Mercury Labs’ latest and potentially last push to win back public favor after the GATE disaster. If this didn’t work, then the labs would close for good and his mother’s legacy would not be the lab she and Clarissa built, but the disaster that took their lives.

Now one of the satellites had stopped transmitting data without warning. The launch had been a month ago and the other three satellites were working perfectly fine. But this fourth one had been functioning just like the others two nights ago. Yesterday, it had just stopped transmitting data. He couldn’t figure out why.

“Still hung up on the satellite?”

Jax turned around to see Thea standing in the door, surprised not to have heard her. “When did you get here?”

“I’ve been here an hour. Did you go home last night?”

“No, I stayed here and tried to figure this out.”

Thea raised her eyebrows. “Not to use her against you like this, but you know that your mother would have-”

“Told me off?” Jax gave a ghost of a smile. “Yeah, she would. She’d probably already know what to do. So would Clarissa.”

“I know,” Thea took a seat across from him. “It’s been hard without them. But we’re holding up. And we’ve figured out countless things without them. This one is just taking more time.”

“I think I’m going to need to call in Lily from her day off to help. But I know she’s still processing Caitlin too.”

Thea nodded. “Can you blame her? She believed her fiancée was dead only to find out she’s been alive all this time. Not only that, but she’s not the Caitlin we remember.”

They fell into silence, both trying to think about the satellite but their minds drifting back to Lily. A quarter of an hour later, Thea decided to try and get into the computer system of the satellites not to examine data, but the live data from the satellite before it had lost all contact. She managed to get it up soon enough before sending him off to cafeteria to get some food for himself. He didn’t realize how much he needed the break until he had it and decided to thank her by bringing back lunch and coffee for her.

“Ready to watch the last recording the satellite sent out?” Thea asked, taking a sip of her cappuccino.

Jax nodded and pressed on the file. Together, they watched the Earth from the view of the satellite. For a few moments, the two talked about how beautiful the other Earth looked and what life must be like on it. As the rest of the video played, their awed expressions turned to horror at the events on screen. Thea covered her mouth and Jax put a hand on her shoulder. Then they replayed the video, slowing it down so they could see the details closer.

“We need to call Lily in now,” Thea murmured.

Jax shook his head in agreement.

* * *

Within the next hour, Lily was watching the same video the other two scientists had seen. The other Earth rotating peacefully one moment. In the next, a wave of…something was surging across the screen to consume the Earth. The satellite captured it all before everything went to static, then black. Likely due to being hit by whatever that matter was.

“Do we know what that stuff is?” she inquired softly once the video had played through.

Jax shook his head. “We don’t. And because of the satellite’s positioning, we don’t know a point of origin either. Whatever it is, it destroys everything in its path.”

“So all of that…it’s gone?”

“We don’t know for sure,” Thea bit her lip. “But there’s no longer a signal from that satellite, or that Earth.”

A chill ran down Lily’s spine. “All those people…”

“I know,” Jax murmured. She knew he could feel flickers what she was feeling. “But the other three satellites are still working. The project won’t be a total loss. I figured you would want to see this though. It could be a potential risk for our Earth or another one day.”

With a few strokes of the keyboard, he had pulled up the live transmission date for the three remaining satellites. Lily studied them and the Earths they were focused on. This was the first step in moving towards inter-Earth cooperation. Soon, they could make contact with the citizens of those universes. Strike up a relationship and share technologies. Maybe there was even something on another Earth that help Caitlin’s new powers, bring her back them and her…

“How have you been holding up anyways?”

Jax’s question startled her out her observation of the satellites. “Okay. Although finding out your fiancée has been alive for the past two years and not dead is a lot. That’s not even counting that she’s become some sort of energy vampire.”

“We’ll figure it out. Just like we always do.”

A smile slowly made its way onto her face. “Thanks, Jax.”

He opened his mouth to answer, then stopped and leaned towards the computer screen. Lily followed his gaze, trying to see what had caught his attention. It took a moment before she and Thea both saw the substance in the corner of the satellite creeping towards the Earth. Before they knew it, they were watching the strange mass surge towards the other Earth, wiping everything out before the satellite’s feed went dead.

“That’s another one…” Thea swallowed. “Just like the last one.”

“Exactly like the first one. How is this happening.”

Lily frowned. “There are two ways. It might have originated in this universe too somewhere. That’s one way, maybe the better way.”

“And the other?” Thea asked.

“It’s the same wave, one of destruction that can cross dimensions.”

Jax grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. “Thea, where are the positions of the Earths where we launched those satellites too?”

She ran to another monitor and began to recite them to him. His pen scribbled a graph and circles down as fast as she could read them. Lily stood to the side, watching him.

“Thea, when did the first satellite go down again?” she asked.

“Two days ago. Exact time was 23:08.”

“Great,” Lily nodded before she grabbed a pencil and started writing on the other side of Jax’s paper. “And this one just went down a minute ago, so I can get the rate down with the distance. I know we don’t know it for sure yet, but this would be how fast that wave is traveling through the multiverse.”

She set her pencil down at the same time Jax dropped his pen. With Thea, they all examined the work.

“So if that material is all the same, and it’s traveling through the multiverse,” Thea began. “How long would take before it reaches us here?”

Jax was silent for a few seconds, picking up the pencil and writing down the numbers. “Three days.”

“Three days until the end of everything,” Lily’s shoulders sank.

Silence fell over the trio.

“Firestorm can’t stop this one,” Jax sighed, looking over at Lily. “We can do a lot of things. But stopping a wave of destruction from space? There’s no way we can transmute that.”

“I know,” Lily nodded. “But I don’t want to die.”

“Me neither.”

“Hey, I don’t want to die either,” Thea chimed in. “But it’s not just our Earth. There are others out there, and not all of them might know about this. Some might know how to overcome this.”

“Like that one,” Jax pointed to one of their remaining satellites. “There’s been a lot of traffic over there for the last three years. If we get to them, then we can warn them or get them to help save the other Earths.”

“And how do we get there?” Lily asked. “Can we use the system that got the satellites to the other Earths, Jax?”

He shook his head. “We didn’t design it for organic material.”

“But the Gateway to Alternative Timelines and Earths was,” Thea reminded them. “And it can be again.”

Lily stared. “You want to try to use the GATE? Thea, you know what happened the last time it was activated. People died. Others got powers like Jax and I. Threats came over from another Earth for a whole year before we put a stop to it.”

“But the DeVoes tampered with the system,” Jax looked between the two of them. “Without their sabotage, it would have worked. Not that we’ve ever tried to.”

“The GATE was two and a half years ago,” Thea said. “Since then, we’ve all learned more about the multiverse. I think I can create a program that will connect the GATE to that Earth everyone keeps going to. When I do, we can reach them and explain what’s happened.”

“The last time we ran the GATE, Mom and Dr. Jackson never had an exact coordinate planned. It just scanned for signs of life to lock onto as a breach. Having that specific place we go to might make things easier. But the explosion did do damage. It’s going to need repairs.”

“Then we can do them while Thea works on developing the program. How long do you think it’ll take?”

“I don’t know. If it’s possible, at least a few hours. A day at maximum. Plus I want to run a few simulations with it.”

“Do we have time for that?”

“Need I remind you France won the Space Race because America didn’t run tests and ended up with astronaut jelly?”

“I don’t want to be Firestorm jelly,” Jax gulped. “Okay, simulations are good. Lily and I still need to assess damage.”

* * *

“Our mothers’ greatest undertaking,” Jax sighed, staring at the arch before them. “Now we’re the ones who are depending on it to save Earth.”

“And all the other ones,” added Lily, approaching the twelve-foot structure with their toolbox.

“Yep. Are you okay coming back to this?”

“Peachy. But you’re not.”

Jax crossed his arms. “This killed our mothers. It gave us a great power, but it also made Caitlin what she is now. The GATE gives and it takes away from my point of reference.”

“It didn’t take away our fathers. They were there that night instead the building, but we still have them. And it never took away Thea. It just brought her closer to us.”

His partner grinned knowingly at him and Jax rolled his eyes. “After we deal with this…crisis that’s happening, I’ll tell her. Promise.”

“Good,” Lily chuckled and tossed a roll of paper to him. “Spread out the blueprint. Let’s see what we have to work with.”

For a while, the two worked in silence studying the blueprint, comparing it to the GATE, and making the fixes necessary to it. They didn’t need to talk at times with their psychic link. If Lily needed the pliers, Jax passed them to her wordlessly. In turn, she knew what he needed, whether it was holding the ladder for him to climb up or to pass him some new screws. Other scientists thought it was freaky whenever they did it in the past and avoided them. Thea told them it was kinda cool.

“This is going to work,” Lily finally told him.

“I know.”

“But you need to hear it. Thea is better with computers than anyone I know. We’re both brilliant with mechanics and how things work. I admit it, I have my trauma from what happened. I’m still seeing Dr. Horton about it. But I trust you and Thea and I believe this is going to work.”

“I just don’t want to bring down Mom’s or Clarissa’s legacy anymore than people have already done,” Jax told her. “And I don’t want to bring any more hurt to the city than I already did with the GATE, even if the DeVoes did sabotage us last time.”

“We won’t fail, because we can’t.”

Jax snorted. “When did you get so hopeful?”

“One of us has to be.”

“In that case, let me tell you something, Lily. We are going to get Caitlin back one way or another.”

* * *

In the end, it took a day and a half, a combined total of fourteen hours of sleep, several coffees or beverages containing caffeine, several alternative pop mixtapes, and only one use of the first aid kit before Jax, Thea, and Lily completed the project. The trio stood in the basement to gaze up at their work. The GATE was rid of dust and gleamed a little brighter than it had hours ago, save for the large burn mark on the base of the right leg. All that was left was for it to be powered up, Thea to upload her program, and then they could walk through to another Earth.

Too bad the founders of Mercury Labs were not here to witness it.

“How long is it going to take to power up the GATE?” Lily asked.

Thea slung off her backpack. “About half an hour. Then we can enter and should find ourselves on that Earth.”

“I’ll go power up the GATE now,” Lily looked right at Jax. “It should take me a while.”

“Then you better get going.”

She smirked a little as she hustled over to the control booth. Once inside, the memories of the night she’d lost her mother crashed into her. It had been the first time she and Jax had fused, which was terrifying given they’d never done it before. They had crawled into the control booth and tried not to get into a lengthy panic attack over how they were one. Thea had been the one to find them and helped them split. Team Firestorm was born in the early morning hours after the GATE failed.

Lily yanked the lever down to start the power-up. Most of the employees at Mercury had already gone home, which was all the better. The rest were probably going to experience power problems for a while. Hopefully none of them would find their way down here to see what they were doing. Everything about this was off the books and could cost them their jobs. But when it was compared to losing the world, Lily would rather be jobless. So would Jax and Thea.

Speaking of the duo, Lily fell back into an easy chair and spun around to watch through the control booth’s window. Jax was doing all the talking. Lily didn’t need the psychic link to tell that he was anxious about talking to Thea. But then those fears evaporated as Thea put her hand over his and kissed him. Good for them.

She gave them another moment before exiting the booth. “Did it go good?”

“It was great,” Thea chuckled. “As soon as all this is over, we’ll do something proper, like dinner or coffee.”

“Or you can do it on the other Earth?”

“Lily, there’s a wave of destruction that’s taken out two Earths already,” Jax reminded her. “I want to stop it first. Then I’ll take Thea on a date.”

“Point taken,” she smiled. “I’m happy for you two. Not the best time, but…better late than never.”

Thea’s expression softened. “Thank you, Lily.”

* * *

“It’s almost time,” Thea announced as she looked at the GATE’s readings on her computer. “Another two minutes and we’ll be good to go.”

“Anyone else feeling a little nervous now?” Lily asked.

Jax raised his hand. “Not sure if it’s me or if it’s because of you. Probably both.”

“I am, but I’m hopeful,” Thea told them. “We always need hope.”

The halves of Firestorm nodded.

“Once the GATE is at power, I need to input the code. Then we can-“

“NO.”

Someone was in the room now. A towering man in some kind of armor stood by the door. It had been locked, but none of them had heard him come in. His skin was white with eyes that were sunken and gaunt. It was as if someone had taken a corpse and brought him back to life. There was even a stench of death about him, one so repulsive that all of them took a step back.

“This Earth must fall, and so must those who tread upon it. You will not be spared.”

Jax held out his fist to Lily behind Thea’s back. She bumped hers against his. With a swirl of flames, Firestorm appeared, inhabiting Jax’s body this run. It was his turn after all.

“I’d get out of here now, buddy,” they warned, stepping in front of Thea.

“You cannot frighten me,” the corpse hissed. “I have seen many Firestorms. None of them strike fear. None of them have overcome me. Fire can be put out easier than you think.”

The lights flickered above them. It made the corpse frown, so it was not his doing. Jax frowned before remembering they were using a lot of energy.

_“She’s coming._ ” Lily’s voice echoed.

“Thea, get ready,” Jax whispered.

A second later, the lock on the door clicked loudly before the door itself fell to the floor. In stalked a woman with tangled white hair and pale skin. Dark circles formed rings around her eyes. If they didn’t know her, they could have assumed she was related to the corpse. But they knew her name. Who she had been. Who she had loved.

_“Caity.”_

Caitlin Snow, now known as Blackout, stared around the room. She frowned at the corpse before relaxing a bit at the sight of Thea and Firestorm. Once she laid eyes on the Gate, her expression became a mixture of hunger and anger. The device that had changed her life was now offering itself as a food source.

_“Let me take over. Just for a moment.”_

Jax relaxed control over their mouth so Lily could assume it.

“Caity,” Lily’s voice came from his mouth. “Help us get out here. He wants to destroy the Earth.”

Caitlin turned back to her. “Lily?”

“Please, Caity. We’ll help you. We’ll find a way to stop the hunger.”

Two long strands of energy flowed from Caitlin’s hands. “You had me at destroying the Earth.”

“Careful, girl,” the corpse warned.

The metahuman laughed. “I’ve been much more than that for a long time.”

With that, she ran towards him, her energy whips flying forward to wrap around the wrists of the corpse.

“Guys,” Thea whispered. “The GATE is ready. I have to get in the coordinates.”

“We can’t let them follow us,” Jax reminded her, taking control of Firestorm again. “At least this freaky guy. He’s the one who wants us dead.”

Thea smiled. “Well, we’re lucky that I was the one who made sure the code has an instruction to close after two organic lifeforms enter it.”

“Thea, you’re a genius.”

“Go help Caitlin first, then compliment my brain.”

Firestorm rose into the air as Thea made a run for the control booth. The corpse was holding up well against Caitlin’s energy whips, which was saying something. Together, Lily and Jax hurled fireballs at him to keep him distracted from Thea. But just as she almost reached the booth, the corpse bent backwards to avoid one whip, which smashed into the metal frame of the window. Thea yelped and fell backwards, her laptop skittering out of her hand all the way to the boot of the corpse.

The corpse stopped and stared at the laptop. Without hesitation, he brought his foot down on it.

Thea did not scream as her pride and joy was reduced to a cracked screen and a broken keyboard, but she looked devastated.

“Thea Queen,” the corpse boomed. “You are not like your doppelgangers. And you shall die different from the rest of them.”

“Not interested, but thanks.”

The corpse smiled cruelly and raised his hand. Jax started to fly towards her.

A strand of energy coiled around the hand before it could swing down.

Both Firestorm and the corpse stopped and turned to see Caitlin clinging to her whip with gritted teeth. “Leave my friend alone!”

The corpse growled at her and yanked his coiled arm forward. Caitlin flew forward and landed on the floor. Thea took the chance to scramble her feet and out of the way. Jax didn’t look to see where she went, but he couldn’t fly anywhere. Lily was too transfixed in horror, watching Caitlin struggle in vain to hold her group as the corpse dragged her across the floor.

“Caitlin Snow,” the corpse pulled the whip forward, so she landed at his feet. “Any final words?”

_“No no no no no no_.”

Lily wanted to move forward, so did he. But they couldn’t somehow. They were just guests.

Caitlin scowled as the corpse lifted her up into the air by the whip, but then looked towards them.

“I love you,” she said. “Kick his ass.”

The corpse snarled. “Pathetic.”

His hand wrapped around her neck. Jax closed their eyes, but they still heard the snap and the thump of a body.

“Now, Firestorm. It is your turn.”

Jax reopened their eyes and felt feeling return to their body. He lowered them to the floor. Caitlin’s body was behind the corpse. A cry that did not belong to him escaped his mouth. Lily’s anguish was almost overpowering, but it was fueling a fight in them.

Flicking their hands out, Jax and Lily summoned handfuls of fire. If they were to go down, they were going down together in a fight.

Behind them, the GATE was filled by a dark blue hue. It was active and ready for transport.

Jax flew up in the air a little, just enough to see past the corpse and Caitlin. Thea was inside the doorway of the control booth, a smile on her face. She was also crying.

“Thea?” he shouted, throwing the fire out to throw off the corpse

The corpse growled. “How-”

“It’s called a flash drive, E.T.!” she screamed at him. “You killed my computer, but not the back-up!”

Then she looked up at them. “Now go!”

“Not without you!”

But the corpse was turned towards her now. She wouldn’t have the time to make it. Logistically, Jax knew this.

Emotionally, he could not accept it.

Thea looked up at him with love, not fear. “Go save this world.”

“Thea!” he cried out.

Lily took control and flew toward the GATE. Jax peeked back one last time at her before they entered the arch. Everything became blue and cold and fast. This was what he imagined going down a sink felt like. Images of people and places flashed around them, but there weren’t very many. He didn’t focus on them when he had just left Thea in the hands of the corpse who wanted to kill all the Earths.

Then everything went black.

* * *

“You’re a foolish girl,” the corpse said as he stepped inside the control booth.

Thea was backed against the wall. Moments ago, she had been brave. Now she was terrified.

“I’m no fool,” she proclaimed, yanking the flash drive out. “I’m a freaking genius.”

The GATE sputtered and shut down.

Raising a hand, the corpse stared down at her. “Then enjoy a taste of your planet’s demise.”

* * *

“How long ago did you find him?”

“An hour, and it’s not really just him. There’s another brainwave signature.”

“So it’s Firestorm. Did Jax find a new partner?

“This isn’t our Jax. Gideon pulled up his location. He’s out in Zenith City.”

“Well, I kinda figured he was from another Earth given how he burst out of that breach.”

“What Earth did he come from?”

Jax groaned. Lily was groggy inside his skull. Summoning as much energy as they had left, they split apart.

“Whoa!”

Jax sat up first and opened his eyes. He was jammed with Lily on a bed in some medical wing. Three people were crowded around the bed. A man wearing something between armor and an exoskeleton, a woman in a white jumpsuit, and a second man wearing all red.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“Earth-1,” the woman answered. “You landed outside STAR Labs and passed out. We know your doppelganger pretty well, so we brought you inside. Where did you come from?”

“Earth-73 is our positioning,” Jax told them as Lily started to rise up beside him. “Something has been destroying Earths. Ours is going to be hit by it within a day. We travelled here to warn you if you didn’t know, or to get help to fight against it.”

The three exchanged a look before the man in red answered. “We know it’s coming, and we can use all the help we can get to fight it.”

“Consider us invested,” Lily told them. “Can you use two people who become a superhero with nuclear-based powers?”

“Definitely,” the man in the suit told them before frowning. “Hey, are you okay?”

Jax didn’t realize he was crying. “I…I…”

Lily finished for him. “We lost people coming here.”

He nodded. She’d lost Caitlin. And Thea was probably as good as dead, but at least he’d told her how he felt.

Better late than never, right?

**Author's Note:**

> And there you have it! I don't plan to do a sequel to this one....not at the moment.
> 
> Please leave reviews because they'd make me really happy.


End file.
